Does anyone have any info on the police raids that happened on day 2? I was out near the man and I saw 2 police trucks speeding over to the 10 o'clock area. I looked at the area and saw a flood of police lights. Later in the week I heard that there were random raids that started at center camp and hit several parties. Supposedly there were police with flack jackets and dogs.

I personally had no police issues but am curious to know what instigated the raids and what happened ed. Thanks!

"just two indecisive cowboys, trying to play a word game." - piehole"Just apply intelligence and discretion and you should be able to get away with just about anything." - Ugly Dougly

RENO, Nev.—It wasn't as surreal as Burning Man itself, but the courtroom banter was a bit unorthodox. After all, it's not every day a discussion about a plea deal for a pair of so-called "Burners" facing drug charges includes a defense lawyer scolding his client, or a judge playfully accusing a federal prosecutor of being a "killjoy."

Robert Louis Ruenzel II and Lindsey Ann Neverisky, both 31, were looking at five years in prison or more after they were arrested Aug. 27 at the annual counter-culture festival in the desert 120 miles north of Reno. They were in an RV stocked with marijuana, cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms, ecstasy pills and other drugs.

Daniel Bogden, the U.S. Attorney for Nevada, said federal prosecutors wanted to charge the two with felonies.

But without explaining further, Bogden said U.S. Magistrate Judge William Cobb declined to sign a felony warrant "even though the evidence established probable cause that they had committed a felony drug offense."

That gave the pair a chance to consider an offer to plead guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge of simple possession of a controlled substance—an offer they jumped at because it likely will mean little if any jail time.

But there was a catch.

"I would only request they not be allowed to return to the Burning Man celebration," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Large said Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Reno.

Somebody we know about hooked up with a playa hottie at OT or somewhere, they danced and hung out, he offered to take her back to camp and get her high, and discovered she was an undercover cop. They seized his brand new trailer, and brought him back sometime later to get his truck. Bail was way over $10,000.

Another person got fined $120 for having a pipe. Since it was empty and she didn't have anything on her, they didn't charge her for possession and fine her $500.

EVERYBODY saw the police presence at Distrikt but I wonder how many saw that one of them had "Love" on his name tag. Pretty funny. They were being cool but looking attentive and hard-ass, except for one of them hanging back a few steps and unconsciously bopping to the music.

I don't think they ever came into our camp--the absinthe/root beer saloon on the corner of 9 and D, but a woman crawled onto our vehicle the night of the burn and tried to get people to give her drinks of their beverages. When we offered her water, she just disappeared into the crowd without a word. We still wonder if she was undercover... Some friends were trying to light a cigarette with a playafied lighter and it probably looked like they were getting stoned.

The framers of the Constitution would not have tolerated that sort of government espionage and subterfuge, but they foretold of the abuse of power. Nevertheless, we had no problem with the police and yet in spite of thousands dollars of band equipment, bikes, lighting etc sitting there, we had no problems with crime or violence either.

"The Red Baron is smart.. He never spends the whole night dancing and drinking root beer.. "-The WWI Flying Ace

RENO, Nev.—It wasn't as surreal as Burning Man itself, but the courtroom banter was a bit unorthodox. After all, it's not every day a discussion about a plea deal for a pair of so-called "Burners" facing drug charges includes a defense lawyer scolding his client, or a judge playfully accusing a federal prosecutor of being a "killjoy."

Robert Louis Ruenzel II and Lindsey Ann Neverisky, both 31, were looking at five years in prison or more after they were arrested Aug. 27 at the annual counter-culture festival in the desert 120 miles north of Reno. They were in an RV stocked with marijuana, cocaine, psychedelic mushrooms, ecstasy pills and other drugs.

Daniel Bogden, the U.S. Attorney for Nevada, said federal prosecutors wanted to charge the two with felonies.

But without explaining further, Bogden said U.S. Magistrate Judge William Cobb declined to sign a felony warrant "even though the evidence established probable cause that they had committed a felony drug offense."

That gave the pair a chance to consider an offer to plead guilty to a lesser misdemeanor charge of simple possession of a controlled substance—an offer they jumped at because it likely will mean little if any jail time.

But there was a catch.

"I would only request they not be allowed to return to the Burning Man celebration," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Large said Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Reno.

ZaphodBurner wrote:I don't think they ever came into our camp--the absinthe/root beer saloon on the corner of 9 and D, but a woman crawled onto our vehicle the night of the burn and tried to get people to give her drinks of their beverages. When we offered her water, she just disappeared into the crowd without a word. We still wonder if she was undercover... Some friends were trying to light a cigarette with a playafied lighter and it probably looked like they were getting stoned.

I made an undercover in our camp (also at 9 and D, we had the bacon bar and the sangria mixer). She struck up a conversation on our couch and eventually steered it towards "Molly" and hinted that she might have some. She actually said that her boss from default world gave it to her, which I don't doubt in the least. I saw her at Crossroads a couple days later, hanging out with two other undercovers who were pointing out people with weed. First of all, nobody throws up the horns during a Janet Jackson song, no matter how slyly you turn it into a pointing finger (followed within seconds by a camera flash). Second...if you're dancing facing AWAY from the stage for an hour, that's a little odd.

Same girl came back into our camp on Friday. Made sure we were checking ID's and then left without a word.

A very young looking guy without an ID really wanted a sip of Irish whiskey in the galley of the ship at the Pier. Despite two or three minutes of reasons he wanted and needed it, and his friend saying "he's totally like 29 bro" I held on to the bottle for dear life.

Three times this year we had narcs in our camp asking for various things and trying to peek into tents. Sheesh, I even caught wind of a rumor that there was a "test" sting pre-event that was basically along the lines of "bong hits for sex".

ZaphodBurner wrote:I don't think they ever came into our camp--the absinthe/root beer saloon on the corner of 9 and D, but a woman crawled onto our vehicle the night of the burn and tried to get people to give her drinks of their beverages. When we offered her water, she just disappeared into the crowd without a word. We still wonder if she was undercover... Some friends were trying to light a cigarette with a playafied lighter and it probably looked like they were getting stoned.

What are the laws regarding giving drinks to people like that woman? I didn't know that could get you busted.

"The essence of tyranny is not iron law. It is capricious law." -- Christopher Hitchens

ZaphodBurner wrote:I don't think they ever came into our camp--the absinthe/root beer saloon on the corner of 9 and D, but a woman crawled onto our vehicle the night of the burn and tried to get people to give her drinks of their beverages. When we offered her water, she just disappeared into the crowd without a word. We still wonder if she was undercover... Some friends were trying to light a cigarette with a playafied lighter and it probably looked like they were getting stoned.

What are the laws regarding giving drinks to people like that woman? I didn't know that could get you busted.

Three years back my friend gave some alcohol to someone he didn't ID and got fined $1500 for it. A ridiculous amount, but everyone in that camp pitched in money to cover the fine.

I was riding from center camp to my camp (Opulent Temple) and saw the cops ripping across the playa. My first thought was "wow they are driving fast", second was "damn, must be something really bad happened". Got back to camp, saw 15 or so cop cars, bunch of cops standing around . . . nothing on fire (other than things that were supposed to be), no collapsed structures, nobody dead.

One of our camp members said he asked the cops what happened and they said somebody jumped 5 of their officers. Another camp member said that a guy was running through the dance floor yelling and asking if anyone had any blow. Then, the cops tackled him, he escaped, they tackled him 2 or 3 more times and kept getting away. They got tired of that game and shot him with a taser. I heard the "got away several times and shot with taser" story from multiple eye witnesses, so I believe that part to be accurate.

I don't have an opinion on the validity of shooting him with a taser, but holy shit !, the speed they were driving right across the center of the playa was totally irresponsible, reckless and unjustified. Had to have been around 40-50 mph . . . I was really pissed to find so many cops already there and such a relatively minor situation. Just goes to show they really, really don't have much serious cop work to do up there and any incident attracts a bunch.

All that said, in general I thought the LEO's were very relaxed and cool as the week went on, at least at our camp. Sure, they were around, they were watching the dance floor and busting obvious infractions. But not nearly as intimidating and disruptive to the vibe as the past few years. In particular the BLM rangers seemed to be genuinely enjoying the event, they complimented us several times on the camp and music, a few asked to be invited to events off playa to attend as private citizens.

MacGlenver wrote:Does anyone have any info on the police raids that happened on day 2? I was out near the man and I saw 2 police trucks speeding over to the 10 o'clock area. I looked at the area and saw a flood of police lights. Later in the week I heard that there were random raids that started at center camp and hit several parties. Supposedly there were police with flack jackets and dogs.

I personally had no police issues but am curious to know what instigated the raids and what happened ed. Thanks!

So I was at 7:30 and E when a shit ton of cops went bat shit crazy on Tuesday night. I thought at first they were prepping to raid our village, and let me tell you, our village was prepping to stand up for our constitutional rights.

But... then a loan BM EMS truck was hanging back so I went up and asked them "just out of curiosity, what is going on?"

And he said there was a guy who had been conducting smash and grabs and that the police were having trouble apprehending him. They had been chasing him for an hour or so around the 7:30 to 10:00 side of the city.

vapor wrote:I was riding from center camp to my camp (Opulent Temple) and saw the cops ripping across the playa. My first thought was "wow they are driving fast", second was "damn, must be something really bad happened". Got back to camp, saw 15 or so cop cars, bunch of cops standing around . . . nothing on fire (other than things that were supposed to be), no collapsed structures, nobody dead.

One of our camp members said he asked the cops what happened and they said somebody jumped 5 of their officers. Another camp member said that a guy was running through the dance floor yelling and asking if anyone had any blow. Then, the cops tackled him, he escaped, they tackled him 2 or 3 more times and kept getting away. They got tired of that game and shot him with a taser. I heard the "got away several times and shot with taser" story from multiple eye witnesses, so I believe that part to be accurate.

I don't have an opinion on the validity of shooting him with a taser, but holy shit !, the speed they were driving right across the center of the playa was totally irresponsible, reckless and unjustified. Had to have been around 40-50 mph . . . I was really pissed to find so many cops already there and such a relatively minor situation. Just goes to show they really, really don't have much serious cop work to do up there and any incident attracts a bunch.

All that said, in general I thought the LEO's were very relaxed and cool as the week went on, at least at our camp. Sure, they were around, they were watching the dance floor and busting obvious infractions. But not nearly as intimidating and disruptive to the vibe as the past few years. In particular the BLM rangers seemed to be genuinely enjoying the event, they complimented us several times on the camp and music, a few asked to be invited to events off playa to attend as private citizens.

Thanks! That sounds exactly like what I saw. 15-20 cop cars, and the 2 I saw driving across the playa (cutting off the Dancetronauts car) were going VERY fast. Glad to hear that I may have gotten some bad info about the "random raids", and that it was actually some semi-real situation they were addressing, though it does sound like an excessive response. I agree that I didnt see any other issues with LEO other than just a very large presence during the week. The 2-3 I talked to at a party near Distrikt were quite laid back. They said they had to drive all the way back to Fernley that night after their shift.

"just two indecisive cowboys, trying to play a word game." - piehole"Just apply intelligence and discretion and you should be able to get away with just about anything." - Ugly Dougly

If you, or anyone you know, has been cited or arrested by law enforcement officers at Burning Man, contact Lawyersforburners.com - they can provide pro bono legal assistance in fighting citations and arrests.

Also, if you have had contact with law enforcement at Burning Man of any kind, be it positive or negative, I highly encourage you to fill out a Law Enforcement Agency Feedback Form. Positive feedback is very welcome, as it can get tiresome and combative if we don't give them props when they are due (and they do deserve props for the good things they do). http://www.burningman.com/on_the_playa/le_feedback.html

It really helps with Org in working with the agencies out there. Be as specific as possible when filling out the form.

Vapor is right, some douchebag was bragging about drugs, BLM rangers chased him...he got away 3 times after battling them. He got hit with a taser 3 different times before giving up and being arrested.

Here's the fucked up part, some chick was hit by one of those asshole speeding to catch some dumb motherfucker. The BLM pig didnt even stop to check on the safety of the chick he hit !!! I really hope she sues the fuck out of the BLM. These douchebags of shit are really out of control. Please keep in mind, i respect MOST police and obey the laws but these asshole are getting worse and worse each year hence why the Nevada chapter of the ACLU were on the Playa all week handing out stuff to teach you what to do if approached or harassed by ANY LEO officer.

If and when you see someone getting harassed by a LEO, take pix or videos !!! This might help to decrease the bullshit "im god" attitude these cops bring to BRC.

As for others getting caught smoking weed or whatever, use your god damn common sense before you even leave for Burning Man.

Remember this, the BLM rangers are there for ONLY 1 REASON, to bust you for ANYTHING illegal !!! ANYTHING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They dont care about rapes or car accidents, thefts or whatever. They are there to bust you for drugs, peeing on the Playa and speeding in your art cars/dui's in your art cars.

Dont fuck up and ignore them and enjoy your burn =)

Here's a helpful tip for anyone that goes to the rave camps and sees BLM rangers there...walk up to them and be super nice or ask for directions or something. They will leave that area right afterwards. I did this all week while doing perimeter checks for Osiris. Seriously, i talked to like 12 different groups of them and they always left back to their trucks in the darkness. I suppose they dont like being exposed while they are spying on anyone within eye sight.

dj_john69 wrote:Remember this, the BLM rangers are there for ONLY 1 REASON, to bust you for ANYTHING illegal !!! ANYTHING !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They dont care about rapes or car accidents, thefts or whatever. They are there to bust you for drugs, peeing on the Playa and speeding in your art cars/dui's in your art cars.

That may be true for some, but definitely not all rangers. The BLM rangers I witnessed a few years ago did show a lot of enthusiasm when it came to the guy that assaulted a girl from our camp.